Folding aid



Sept. 22, 1959 A. J. COUTU 2,905,357

FOLDING AID Filed Nov. 14, 1957 INVENTOR.

ALBERT J. COUTU I ATTORN EY FOLDING AID Albert J. Coutu, Pawtucket, R.I.

Application November 14, 1957, Serial No. 696,498

6 Claims. (Cl. 223-37) My present invention relates to a device for assisting in the manual folding of large pieces of textile material.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device which will permit one person to accurately fold large pieces of material such as sheets, blankets, etc.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a folding aid which is particularly adaptable for use in laundries to permit a single operator to fold large sheets, blankets or similar items.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a folding aid which is simple in construction and easy and economical to manufacture.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device assisting in the folding of material which can be made in different sizes and mounted in different positions for use in the laundry or the home.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and more particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a device embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 3-3 on Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the clamping members.

The neat folding of large or long sheets of material such as bed sheets or blankets has been a problem both in commercial laundries and in the homes. In the laundry, after a sheet has been ironed, the operator must ask for the assistance of a second person to hold the opposite end of the sheet while it is being folded. This involves a loss of time and the use of additional help for accomplishing a small task. The present invention is designed to provide a simple device which will permit a single person to neatly and accurately accomplish the entire folding operation without assistance. The device comprises a releasable clamping construction which in effect gives the operator a second pair of hands.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the device of the present invention can be mounted in any convenient place and for purposes of illustration it is shown mounted on a vertical member or wall 10. It comprises a rod or shaft 11 which is mouted in spaced parallel relation to the wall in Vertical position as illustrated. The rod 11, which forms the base of the device may be rigidly held in this position by any conventional means such as the lower bracket 12 and upper bracket 13 shown in Fig. 1. The bracket 12 is in the form of an'angle iron with one leg attached to the wall and the horizontal leg supporting the base rod 11 at its outer end. The upper bracket 13 is also an angle iron with one leg attached to the wall 10. However, the horizontal leg of the 2,995,367 Patented Sept. 22, 1959 ice bracket 13 is elongated at 14 to extend beyond the upper end of the base rod 11. Adjacent the outer end of the portion 14 the bracket 13 supports a rod 15 in depending position in spaced parallel relation to the base rod 11. The rod 15 extends downwardly approximately one third of the length of the base rod 11.

I now provide a pair of spring wire members each constructed as shown in Fig. 4. These members may be made of single strands of stiff spring wires. However, for greater stiffness, holding power and frictional engagement it is preferred that each member comprise a double twisted wire as illustrated. Referring to Fig. 4, each member comprises an elongated bowed portion 16 integrally bent at right angles to form a short portion 17 at each end and then bent laterally at right angles again to form ends 18. With this construction the ends 18 are at right angles to the common plane of the portion 16 and ends 17. The base rod 11 is provided with spaced openings 19 extending therethrough in parallel relation to the wall 10. The openings 19 are spaced apart a distance equal to the length of the wire portion 16.

In assembly two Wire members are placed in position so that their ends 18 extend towards each other. The upper arms 18 are positioned into the opening 19 as shown in Fig. 3. The portions 16 are then crossed and recrossed to intertwine the members as shown in Fig. 2. The lower ends are then sprung outwardly to allow the portions 18 to enter the lower opening 19. The effect of this twist is to provide a spring tension in the intermediate twisted portion 20. In order to rigidly retain the wire members in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 it is necessary that the ends 18 be firmly anchored in the base rod 11 against movement or twisting. This may be accomplished by using a solid rod as illustrated or by using a hollow rod with a solid portion at the openings 19 or additional tubular members transversely mounted to form the openings 19.

With the above construction the twisted wire members are retained in position spaced from the base rod 11 by the short legs 17 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. It is to be underflow volute and a region within said rotor to pass a purposes of illustration only. With the parts assembled as illustrated and described the device can be turned and mounted horizontally if desired. The size and length of the wire members may also be varied for the particular use to which the device is to be put. The operation of the device is explained as follows:

Assuming that the operator has just completed the ironing of a large sheet. The operator takes the two corners at a short end of the sheet and places them together to form one fold. The operator then folds this portion again to form a double fold. Grasping the corner of this double fold the operator pulls it upwardly between the wire members into a twisted portion 20 as shown in the dotted line position 21 in Fig. 1. One end of the sheet is now in four folds clamped between the wire members. The operator then moves to the opposite end of the sheet and repeats the same folding operation. By shaking the sheet gently and pulling tight the rest of the sheet will fall neatly into the four folded position. The operator now holds the unclamped folded end in one hand, reaches to the center of the sheet with the other hand and grasps the center portion of the sheet. The operator then swings the sheet to bring the two ends together to form the lengthwise fold. As the two ends are brought together one end is grasped between the fingers of the operator and the other end is in the device. The operator grasps both sections and pushes sharply downwardly releasing the sheet from the wire members. The operator now has in her hands the sheet folded four times in length and once in width. The operator moves the sheet upwardly behind the rod 15 into the dotted line position 22 shown in Fig. 1. By pulling outwardly the operator straightens the sheet and brings together the four corners and the center told. This provides a second fold in the length. The operator now reaches towards the device and grasps the sheet and again movesit downwardly oi the rod 15. From this point on the rod is used to make any additional folds necessary to complete the folding operation. The above: method and the device thus provide the operator with a quick and easy method of holding the folded ends of the sheet. The operation is easy and swift and materially decreases the labor and time for folding. It has been found that large sheets, blankets or bed spreads are extremely heavy and the twisted wire construction is essential for maintaining the sufiicient clamping pressure during the folding operation. Nevertheless it has been found that a sharp downward push will easily release the material. For lighter work a single strand of wire can be used and the portions 16 can be shortened to provide the smaller twisted area 20.

The device of the present invention can be mounted in the home either vertically or horizontally. Small constructions, approximately two or three inches long can be used at a sewing machine for joining seams on long pieces of material prior to sewing. Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a rigidly mounted base comprising an elongated base rod, said base rod having spaced transverse openings, and a clamping member mounted in said openings, said clamping member comprising a pair of spring wire members each having an elongated central portion and L-shaped integral end portions extending at right angles from each end of the central portion, the outer legs of the L-shaped portions of one of said wire members extending into the base openings on one side of said base rod and the outer legs of the L-shaped portions of the other wire member extending into the base openings on the other side of said base rod and said elongated central portions being intertwined to form a spring clamping portion.

2. In a device of the character described, a rigidly mounted base comprising an elongated base rod, an auxiliary rod mounted in spaced parallel relation to said base rod, said auxiliary rod being shorter than said base rod-and having one end free, said base rod having spaced transverse openings, and a clamping member mounted in said openings, said clamping member comprising a pair of spring wire members each having an elongated central portion and L-shaped integral end portions extending at right angles from each end of the central portion, the outer legs of the L-shaped portions of one of said wire members extending into the base openings on one side of said base rod and the outer legs of the L-shaped portions of the other wire member extending into the base openings on the other side of said base rod and said elongated central portions being intertwined to form a spring clampmg portion.

3. In a device of the character described, a rigidly mounted base comprising an elongated base rod, said baserod having spaced transverse openings, and a clamping member mounted in said openings, said clamping member comprising a pair of spring wire members each having an elongated central portion and L-shaped integral end portions extending at right angles from each end of the central portion, the outer legs of the L-shaped portions of one of said wire members extending into the base openings on one side of said base rod and the outer legs of the L-shaped portions of the other wire member extending into the base openings on the other side of said base rod and said elongated central portions being intertwined to form a spring clamping portion, said wire members each comprising a pair of wires twisted to form a double stranded wire member.

4. In a device of the character described, a rigidly mounted base comprising an elongated base rod, an auxiliary rod mounted in spaced parallel relation to said base rod, said auxiliary rod being shorter than said base rod and having one end free, said base rod having spaced transverse openings, and an clamping member mounted in said openings, said clamping member comprising a pair of spring wire members each having an elongated central portion and L-shaped integral end portions extending at right angles from each endof the central portion, the outer legs of the L-shaped portions of one of said wire members extending into the base openings on one side of said base rod and the outer legs of the L- shaped portions of the other wire member extending into the base openings on the other side of said base rod and said elongated central portions being intertwined to form a spring clamping portion, said wire members each comprising a pair of wires twisted to form a double stranded Wire member.

5. In a device of the character described, a rigidly mounted base comprising an elongated base rod, an auxiliary rod mounted in spaced parallel relation to said base rod, said auxiliary rod being shorter than said base rod and having one end free, said base rod having spaced transverse openings, and a clamping member mounted in said openings, said clamping member comprising a pair of spring wire members each having an elongated central portion and L-shaped integral end portions extending at right angles from each end of the central portion, the outer legs of the L-shaped portions of one of said Wire members extending into the base openings on one side of said base rod and the outer legs of the L- shaped portions of the other Wire member extending into the base openings on the other side of said base rod and said elongated central portions being intertwined to form a spring clamping portion, said base rod having mounting brackets at each end, the mounting bracket at one end supporting said auxiliary rod.

6. In a device of the character described, a rigidly mounted base comprising an elongated base rod, an auxiliary rod mounted in spaced parallel relation to said base rod, said auxiliary rod being shorter than said base rod and having one end free, said base rod having spaced transverse openings, and a clamping member mounted in said openings, said clamping member comprising a pair of spring wire members each having an elongated central portion and L-shaped integral end portions extending at right angles from each end of the central portion, the outer legs of the L-shaped portions of one of said wire members extending into the base openings on one side of said base rod and the outer legs of the L- shaped portions of the other wire member extending into the base openings on the other side of said base rod and said elongated central portions being intertwined to form a spring clamping portion, said wire members each comprising a pair of wires twisted to form a double stranded wire member, said base rod having mounting brackets at each end, the mounting bracket at one end supporting said auxiliary rod.

References Cited-in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS M." in. 

